We All Disappear Eventually
by Eliza.Cava.Shep
Summary: Set During 3x16- Meredith gets pushed off a bridge and Derek has to save her. Can he get to her in time, or will he fail to save her from sinking under the water of the bathtub? (Meredith Derek Romance.)
1. Chapter 1

**This is a Grey's Anatomy Fanfiction because I started watching it after I finished pll (the first time) mostly just because it has Patrick Dempsey in it and I am absolutely in love with him. I just watched this episode and knew I had to write something about it because I loved it so much. Don't think I'm crazy for loving the episode just because someone important (maybe) dies. I love the episode because of what it demonstrates.**

 _ **SPOILER**_ **ALERT** **: Do not read this if you have not seen Season 3 Episode 15-17. Major Spoilers for that. Also, please do not spoil what happens after episode 17 to me, because that is as far as I have watched.**

 **Watching these episodes really inspired me because I saw how much all of the main characters loved Meredith and were devastated by what happened to her.**

 **This is just a one shot for now.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Derek's POV_

"Hey!" I said to the little girl standing silently ahead of me. It was the same girl that Meredith had been with not long ago. I had just seen Meredith's jacket with her badge on it but I couldn't find her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She turned to me, the same empty, haunted look on her face. I wondered why Meredith hadn't taken her to a place where her mother could find her by now. I mean, it had been a while since I saw her towing the poor girl around by the hand. She blinked blankly at me as if she was looking through me.

"Did the doctor bring you here? Huh? Meredith?" I asked her, crouching down to her level. Her eyes followed mine but she didn't move. Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed my mind.

"Is Meredith okay?" I asked the girl. She stared at me for a second, a slight pout on her face, and then shook her head.

* * *

 _Meredith's POV_

 _Derek._ Derek was all I thought of as I fought for my life against the cold water and relentless waves. Oh, it was so cold. I felt like my limbs would freeze and break off if I didn't move them constantly. How could I let myself get into a situation like this?

Derek _was_ my knight in shining whatever. He was the one who saved me from myself. He was the one who had pulled me out from under the water of the bathtub just this morning. The ocean is no bathtub. It's cold, unforgiving, and relentless. It felt like there were hands grasping at my legs, pulling me down, down, down, further and further into the depths. My limbs were exhausted and no one was there for what seemed like miles around. All I saw in the distance was the ferryboat.

 _Derek loves ferry boats._

* * *

 _Derek's POV_

I stood in the center of the chaos and commotion of the wreckage, holding the little girl's tiny, fragile hand in mine. Her eyes scanned in all directions, searching for the place where Meredith had taken her. Suddenly, she nodded towards an opening in the crowd that lead to the dock and started walking quickly towards it. I followed her, anxieties running through my head. Where was Meredith? Why did the little girl say she wasn't okay?

We walked until she was standing just a few feet from the edge of the bridge, staring out at the water. I crouched down so I was at her level.

"Okay, use your words. Where exactly is Meredith?" I asked her. She continued to stare out silently at the water for a few seconds. Then she raised her little finger and pointed straight out in front of her.

Before I knew it, I was in the water, the freezing cold surrounding me entirely. I took a huge gulp of breath and dunked my head under. The salt water burned my eyes as I scanned the depths of the water for any sign of movement. That's when I saw her.

She was sinking slowly, her arms and legs dangling under her like they were dead. Her blonde hair floated above her peacefully as she sunk deeper into the ocean. I resurfaced briefly for air and then dived under after her. I didn't know how long she had been under but the only thing on my mind was saving her life. I could not lose her, not after everything that I went through for her. Not after she made me fall in love with her.

She was so deep by the time I got to her that it took multiple tries to get her up. I would grab her lifeless body and swim up as fast and far as I could before I absolutely needed air. Then I would let go. It hurt me so bad to let go of her. It felt like I was betraying her, like I was giving up every time I let her sink so that I could get air. I kept telling myself that if I didn't get air, we would both die and no one could save her. So I let her go and swam up to the surface, gasped oxygen into my lungs, and then dived back down again, pulling her up further and further each time.

Finally, we were both at the surface and I started to swim towards the dock. It was painfully slow, and I felt like I had to go faster, but my limbs were aching and it was difficult to move quickly and keep her head above water. Eventually, we reached the dock and I pushed her lifeless body up onto it, gasping for air. I climbed onto the platform and picked her up in my arms, running up the stairs to the bridge. I reached the top and saw a first responder had picked up the little girl who lead me here and was carrying her away.

The man turned around when he heard me coughing and gasping for air, running up the stairs with Meredith in my arms, her head resting limply against mine.

* * *

 _Miranda's POV_

I threw open the doors of the ambulance and saw Derek resuscitating a girl whose face I couldn't see.

"What do we got?" I shouted at the man holding a breathing device over her mouth and nose.

"Jane Doe, hypothermic, drowning." He reported. Derek looked at him like he was crazy.

"She is not a Jane Doe. It's Meredith Grey!" He screamed. He looked towards me. "It's Meredith." He repeated. I froze for a moment in shock. Meredith drowned?!

"Derek! Derek, oh my god! Derek, how long has she been down?!" I screamed at him. He was focusing only on pumping Merediths heart. The girl's skin was white as snow and she looked frozen.

"I don't know. She's- She's alive. She's alive." He kept repeating it to himself and continued to pump his arms up and on Meredith's chest rhythmically. My mind was racing and for a moment, I forgot how to be a doctor. I forgot that I was supposed to be the one that saves people's lives and I just watched him. I looked at Meredith's cold, lifeless body and him desperately trying to save her. Then I snapped back into reality and realized that I had to do my job.

"Okay, I need you to help me get her inside. Clear a trauma bay, stat!" I yelled.

* * *

 _Derek's POV_

I was standing in the trauma room with Miranda listing of everything that I had done and given Meredith since I found her. She was constantly trying to get me to leave but I wasn't listening. I couldn't leave her, not while she was in this state. Richard rushed into the room and told me to leave as well. I ignored him and continued to spew information that no one was listening to. The Chief came and pushed me out of the way and took over pumping Meredith's heart, leaving me to stand behind him and continue talking.

"Shepherd, get out! We need to save her life. You can't do it." He said. I sighed and stroked Meredith's wet hair and ice cold face. Tears pooled in my eyes and I squeezed Richard's arm before walking out the door and leaving Meredith behind.

* * *

 _Addison's POV_

I got an emergency page and rushed over, no idea what I would see when I entered the room.

I walked through the door and saw Meredith Grey, pale and unconscious, having her heart jump-started by Burke, Bailey, and Webber. They were all shouting orders over each other, the monitor next to her beating rapidly and randomly. After a few seconds, it went back to normal and the panic in the room died a little bit.

"Oh, my god."


	2. AN

**Hi so I just watched the next two episodes and I'm kind of upset. I think it's kind of ridiculous that Meredith died and then came back to life. I feel like they could have had everything that happened while she was in the 'afterlife' but not all the stuff in the real world about how she was definitely dead and and there was nothing they could do. I also don't like that they didn't include much of how Derek was coping and didn't even include his reaction to finding out the Meredith was alive.**

 **I will probably write more Greys fics as idea come to me, so stay tuned if you enjoyed this one.**


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